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It's been a while since I have contributed much. And it's been a long time since I drove the big Lex much. In 2020, I had a vision to purchase the least expensive vehicle available in the U.S. Well, the least expensive is arguable. There might have been 1 or 2 others that were published as being less expensive, but the one chosen was the one in practice that was clearly able to be purchased for less. It was in less demand that the others due to the puny engine. Anywho - I got it for CHEEEEEP brand new, and have fallen in love with it, and its CHEAPNESS. It has also proven to be VERY reliable. Anywho - the point being, the big Lex has sat in the garage ... A LOT.
However, I'm getting ready to take it on a VERY LONG ride. From Peachtree City, GA, to Newport, RI. About 1,100 miles. Probably 4 people in the car, and the little cheap can doesn't have the room for 4 people AND their luggage. My oldest son went through a dozen hurdles, interviews, exams, etc, and was accepted to go to Navy OCS, as a NUPOC, and afterward on to Nuclear School. He wants to be a Navy Officer, and be in charge of the Nuclear power plant on a submarine. In a thousand years, I would NEVER have guessed any of that from him. He was sort of relaxed, low key, not very disciplined etc. But when it comes to Nuclear, it's like his brain takes a hit of Heisenberg's "blue." OCS is just a hurdle to him, one to get to the Nuclear program. His reasoning is, as he says, "Nuclear is the future, I don't want to work on anything other than the future." More power to him.
So he graduates at the end of September. So I have some time and I've already begun. I just need to make sure the big Lex is whipped into shape for highway duty. Here's what I've done, what's in process, and would like to know what else you guys might suggest.
The car has just under 62k miles on it.
I just put new tars on it. Not for the trip, but just based on the previous ones done got warned out. Excuse my redneck language!
I've been back to the shop 3X trying to work out mainly a slight pull to the right, and a slight gravly feeling. I think it is all good now.
I bought new wiper inserts. OEM inserts. It's got the original blades on it, 15 years now. Or, almost 15 years I guess.
I just bought a new OEM cabin filter. Again, the original cabin filter is in the car. Might be behind on that one, but no biggie. I put a new rear filter in it years ago, but don't remember why.
I just bought 2 new Denso engine air filters. I think I was supposed to replace them at 30k miles. This will be the first air filter replacement (I believe).
That's all I can think of at the moment. The book calls for new spark plugs at 60k miles. But these are iridium. They should be good for 100k miles. I don't think I've going to bother with them.
And, the car rides and drives just fine. No issues. I might consider a battery. This big Lex has always been a real creampuff.
I think it's great how proud you are of your son! The boy is going places. On a sub, underwater, but places.
The only loose end I can think of is, it wouldn't hurt to replace the coolant if you haven't done it recently. Considering the car's going to be fully loaded and carrying lots of weight, I'd change, or at least inspect, that serpentine belt and the upper and lower hoses. I know none of those bits are easy to see; but that makes checking their condition even more urgent before a long trip.
Mine is as quiet as a mouse ... except the Exhaust Vents, but they're nice to listen to. Out on the interstate, they hush-up. I don't want to listen to exhaust for hours on end.
The only loose end I can think of is, I'd have the Lexus dealer do a flush of the transmission fluid too. That and I'd have those front end bushings inspected too if you haven't already.
"Whachu talkin' bout Willis?" I'm not letting a dealer touch my car. Seems like I remember our transmissions supposedly have a permanent / no service required kind of fluid setup. I'll have to go back and read (it's been a while). But even at that, I would not let it go a whole lifetime without changing it. Seems like I also remember some people up in here having transmission issues right after a flush.
So at best I might do a drain and top off (no flushie-flushie). A drain and top off would be what ... 60% - 70% new fluid? That would work (for me). I can do that myself, without a dealer Fing it up. I don't trust a dealer to change wiper blades, much less anything more complicated. But that's a good suggestion, to give the trans a bit of love. Gonna go back to LS 460 school on this.
As for the bushings, it's apparent by the way this thing drives, that my bushings are good. Or, at least, not a problem as yet. The steering responds crisp, no play, straight, no noise. And I think the alignment shop would've tried to blame bushing wear after as many realignments as I had them do. This car has been flawless so far. I guess I've owned it right at 10 years now.
It appears that I have the same car. I have the upgraded rear seat option and no air. A couple of points.
Our cars are 14 years old so I am not sure when the emissions coverage goes away. I changed the spark plugs back at 59,956 and yes they did not need to be changed however it was a requirement to change at 60K to keep the emissions coverage in place. I am now at 111,xxx and do not plan on changing them at 120K.
Transmission: I do not believe a simple drain will allow 60 or 70 percent new fluid to be installed. I believe you would have to do that 2 or 3 times to get those results.
Allowing the dear wife to drive: If you allow the dear wife to drive regularly she will come to think of it as HER CAR and you will be restricted to driving it when it needs gas or washed or on long road trips such as the one coming up.
Milage: The sweet spot on my LS is about 77mph and I have recorded 31mpg at that speed. I can travel from the Costco in Springfield, MO to the Costco in Lexington, KY which is 550 miles on 1 tank of gas.
I meant to come back in here. I decided that I'm taking the Lexus either way. Because, if I drive onto base to pick up my son, what I imagine is that there will be other Officers / Officer Candidates around waiting to be picked up, being picked up. And all those guys will be being social with each other, and being jovial due to successful completion of OCS. And it would be embarrassing for him to have to fold down into my little clown car in front of fellow officers. Don't get me wrong, that clown car is badass, really great quality, a helluva tool. But it is very small, and looks very budget-class (as it is budget-class).
This is a prestigious thing he is doing, I don't want to embarrass him in front of his new brothers.
I did read up on the transmission a bit. I will be doing a PM on it. Just a drain and top off. I need to read more. Seems there's no transmission dipstick for checking the level. It's a "fill until it starts to overflow a hole" kind of thing. I don't know what fluid, I don't know if there is a drain plug or pull the pan. I have more reading to do. I'm not sure if I will do it before this trip. I have so many other things going on right now. Finish working out a few issues on the Officer's car, other maintenance on the Lexus, and fixing my uncle's golf cart.
I bought my 12l AWD with 235k miles. Picked it up in grand rapids, mi and drove back home to san Francisco in the middle of winter during a snowstorm. From Chicago to Reno never got above freezing, ave high was 20, got down to -9 one day. Now at 280k miles and would not hesitate making the same trip again.
Mine has been treated like the cream puff that it is. I flew to Las Angeles to buy it, I could see the HOLLYWOOD sign from the guy's driveway from which I bought it, drove it maybe 6 hours east, slept near the continental divide (in a hotel), cranked up the next morning and drove straight through to Atlanta. It had 13,800 miles on it when I stole it in 2014. 61k now.
Nice trip, better to do OCS in RI than in The South. I used to live where the other NPTU is and it is hot, humid and not fun 5 months a year. Not sure if they also do the OCS there. I used to get a kick out of the NPTU students, those kids are uber smart but often were challenged in the common sense arena. One of my standard jokes with them was if they got the velcro boots in stead of the lace-ups. This was due to their inability to tie them. Those kids were utterly brilliant but lacked in some areas. The NPTU classes themselves are pressure cookers but they turn out some of the best and brightest. Enjoy the trip!
As a retired USA Master Sergeant. I have known a bunch of Nuclear Sub boys. My neighbor in VA when I was assigned to the pentagon was a Retired Command Master Chief for Nuclear Sub Sonar, Atlantic Fleet out of Northfork, VA. All his tours except one were on fast attack and only one on a boomer. We had lots of conversation regarding "Hunting for Red October". His son went to Nuclear Reactor School up in Idaho I think. Had 5 or 6 retired Nuclear Sub guys on the dock in Pearl Harbor where we keep our 42 foot sailboat for 15 years. Different breed of cat. Had a guy on the dock who was a Petty Officer 1st Class (E6) on subs went to OCS became a Nuclear Weapons Officers under the Mustang program and retired as a Captain (06) from the Navy with 30 years. Tell your son Congratulations well done.
Dennis
Here's the Carista App web page. I don't believe you can get Transmission info.
Thanks Dennis,
I did read up on the transmission a bit. I will be doing a PM on it. Just a drain and top off. I need to read more. Seems there's no transmission dipstick for checking the level. It's a "fill until it starts to overflow a hole" kind of thing. I don't know what fluid, I don't know if there is a drain plug or pull the pan. I have more reading to do. I'm not sure if I will do it before this trip. I have so many other things going on right now. Finish working out a few issues on the Officer's car, other maintenance on the Lexus, and fixing my uncle's golf cart.
The ATF in your transmission is Toyota WS ("world standard"). Also the transmission in our cars has no ATF dipstick. This means to check the ATF level, the trans fluid has to be in a specific temperature range (often measured by an IR thermometer pointed at the ATF fluid pan). I've only seen it done, never done it myself, last year I paid a transmission shop to do a simple flush and refill (plus I brought them the Lexus WS fluid to change it with).
Most mechanics I barely trust to shut the hood all the way, let alone to track down the correct fluid... since chances are he's got a drum of "universal ATF" gathering filth in his store room he's been itching to use instead. I used to work in a fleet. The sheer number of dopes calling themselves mechanics, who cut corners all the time, (including helpful hints like "just use any ATF that seems like it'll probably work") is more prevalent than any non-mechanic could ever guess it is.
Most mechanics I barely trust to shut the hood all the way, let alone to track down the correct fluid... since chances are he's got a drum of "universal ATF" gathering filth in his store room he's been itching to use instead. I used to work in a fleet. The sheer number of dopes calling themselves mechanics, who cut corners all the time, (including helpful hints like "just use any ATF that seems like it'll probably work") is more prevalent than any non-mechanic could ever guess it is.
I agree and why I try to do 100% of the work on my cars. I manage to do maybe 85%. The areas I generally forfeit on are those that require under body access, and those that are greasy nasty. I don't have access to a lift, and this Shrek body doesn't fit well up under cars.
Yes, it is a 78 hp 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage with a manual. You guys may remember, or may not. I'm an automotive engineer. Course the last 14 years I've been working in a different field, but only to pay the bills. I have a patent with Toyota (and 6 other patents). That's not info I share to insinuate I'm smart. I'm probably one-quarter skosh smarter than average only. That's just to validate that when I say I'm an automotive guy, it's is LEGIT. And when I watched that idiot Demuro's video about the Mirage, I kept saying things to myself, "but ... it's a cheap car, of course it's going to have cheap materials." "But it's a fuel efficient car, of course it's going to have a small engine." "What? Space around the engine is a bad thing? I'd love to have all kind of space in order to work on it." "That plasticy thing that you don't even know what it is is an HVAC duct to make air flow to the rear seat area better." As he ripped the car to shreds, I fell in love with it. So I just had to have one. I could have gotten another Mirage probably $1,000 cheaper, but I paid $11,800 for one brand new, because I wanted BLUE. Nearly 5 years later and 45k miles, it's not had one problem. And get's ~45 mpg. Yeah, it's slow to accelerate. But I'm not John Force, or Mario Andretti. And I'm not racing through the grocery store parking lot dodging little old ladies pushing buggies like I'm on an autocross course. This little blue can gets the job done with no issues. It's very Toyota-ish. And the styling inside and out is very 1990's and I just love it. I don't NEED the fanciness of my LS. The LS is badass though, the ML is to die for.
When the little blue can takes on towing duty, like the Heavy Haul Tow Rig that it is, I'm able to achieve a skosh over 35 mpg with the setup below. There were some efforts put into the trailer tow set-up you see below though they may not be obvious. I've modified it so that the rear load ramp folds flat to the floor. That rear ramp door creates tremendous drag. And with 78 hp, the car is very dtrag sensitive. With that gate down, the car can hold 65 mph on cruise control on all but the steepest hills. I only go 65 mph because I'm slightly concerned about the clown car tires it has. If one goes pop, I would like to be going slower to improve my chances of retaining control. And the rear ramp gate had an angle iron right in the center. But i had it cut off and moved to the side a bit, added another angle iron sym-opp, and now the 2 angle irons serve as a track to prevent the rear tire from jumping sideways, so the bike stays inline. The bike and front chock mount I custom positioned it fore-aft to make the load (of the bike) to be 100% carried by the trailer. I went back to school on weight distribution since the Mirage doesn't have the load carrying capacity on it's rear axle that my 3/4 ton Ram has. This combo towes like a dream. No sway, no noise, no purposing, you just can't believe how good it does. Except the acceleration. Off the line, I'm slow as can be because I barely rev it and get first gear engaged quickly and at low rpm. To minimize slipping. As the clutch isn't much bigger or stronger than a rubberband (but hey, it's a cheap car). Slow off the line and to get up to speed, but does fine once up to speed. Tis a fun car. It truly is fun to drive a slow car fast, versus a fast car slow.
07-29-24, 09:01 AM
Long Time / Long Ride
Excuse my redneck language! 
